eNews November 2018 Issue

Thank You Louise McCoach

The Board would like to acknowledge and thank departing Director Louise McCoach for her valuable services to Australian Taekwondo. Louise's term as director expired on 22 September 2018, and she vacated the position of Appointed Director having held the position since June 2015.

During her tenure Louise also chaired the Board’s Finance, Audit and Risk Management sub-committee, where with her expertise in banking law and specialist experience in business development, provided guidance overseeing Australian Taekwondo’s financial and budgeting processes and reporting.

Welcome Gillian Savage

The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Gillian (Gill) Savage as an Appointed Director.

Gill is a leader in strategy development and advice, governance and managing change. Her career spans over 30 years in the public and private sectors and includes senior executive service roles within government developing and implementing programs, and achieving major change outcomes.

Her extensive experience spans national security, border protection, defence and wider government environments driving digital transformation, managing secure information and communications technology infrastructure and implementing biometrics for border control.

Her perspective on topical matters including leadership, culture and values, and change management is highly valued, and she has extensive knowledge of applying social media to drive brand and generate business gained through various roles.

Gill enjoys keeping fit and outdoor pursuits and is a hiker, rock climber and in the past a Master Scuba Diver Trainer.

New Sponsor - Australex

Australian Taekwondo welcomes new sponsor the Australex Group who in 2019 will sponsor our Para-Athletes. Australex specialises in high-end residential, commercial and industrial projects.

At the recent National Championships in Bendigo, Australex Director Mahmoud Mearbany presented a cheque for $11,000, which was gratefully accepted on behalf of Australian Taekwondo by two times World Para-Taekwondo Champion, Steven Currie. 

The sponsorship will go towards our para-athletes' 2019 campaign as they prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Pink Belt Scholarship - Giving the Gift of Empowerment

A Taekwondo blogger mum from WA and Australian Taekwondo have teamed up to deliver scholarships covering all expenses associated with one year of Taekwondo Training for women in need.

Kristy Hitchens, also known as The Mortal Mouse Taekwondo Blogger, came up with the idea to crowdfund for what she’s calling a Pink Belt Scholarship, but daunted by the potential scope of the project, approached Australian Taekwondo for support.

AT quickly agreed in light of its renewed focus on increasing participation in Taekwondo for everyone, regardless of age, income or ability.

And what started with Kristy’s goal to be able to provide one scholarship, has so far turned into being able to help change the lives of six women who would like to learn Taekwondo but could not otherwise afford to participate.

“I started Taekwondo about 18 months ago at age 40, which is kind of a late start,” Kristy said.
“But I was quickly overwhelmed by the profoundly positive impact the training had on me not just from a health and fitness point of view but from a whole-of-life perspective.
“Participating is expensive though.  There’s club fees, uniforms, seminars, equipment.
“That puts achieving these amazing life benefits through Taekwondo out of reach for many women.”

Kristy said she wanted to change that.

While no silver bullet, Kristy believed Taekwondo training could help women struggling with issues like domestic violence, body image, workplace bullying and self-esteem.
Australian Taekwondo Participation Manager Ben Exton said Kristy’s idea addressed an important cause and he was glad to be involved.

“Taekwondo has a great history of helping people,” said Ben.

“The recreational and traditional elements of Taekwondo provide such significant benefits that we need to keep promoting these to the wider community.”

The Taekwondo community across the country has mobilised in support of the cause.

Individuals, clubs, schools and businesses from anywhere in the world have been invited to contribute from as little as $5 to the scholarship fund which will be administered by Australian Taekwondo.

Some schools however have gone a step further by contributing financially to the fundraiser but also offering to provide a one year scholarship at their own schools.

Special recognition goes to:

• Sangrok World Taekwondo Academy in Canberra
• Fearless Martial Arts in Sydney
• Irontiger Martial Arts in Sydney
• Adelaide Taekwondo Academy
• Nutrition for Taekwondo

Also contributors and advocates:

• Mooto Australia & New Zealand
• Daedo Australia
• Carmen Marton
• Kate McAdams

Once fundraising closes on Friday, November 30, Taekwondo clubs and schools operating in Australia will be invited to make an Application for a Pink Belt Scholarship on behalf of a potential student they would like to sponsor. Scholarships funds will be paid direct to the school where the beneficiary would like to train.

Applications will be reviewed by a panel to include the Mortal Mouse and members appointed by Australian Taekwondo.

Donations can be made to towards the Pink Belt Scholarship https://chuffed.org/project/pinkbelt

Media Contacts:

• Ben  Exton

           Participation Manager
           Australian Taekwondo
           Email: participation@austkd.com.au

• Kristy Hitchens

           The Mortal Mouse Taekwondo Blogger
           Email: kristy@brownmouse.com.au

2018 World Championships World Poomsae Team

Australian Taekwondo is pleased to announce the full list of 35 Athletes (8 Athletes in 2 divisions) and 5 Officials of the Australian Team to contest the World Poomsae Championships in Taiwan which will be held from 15~18 November 2018.

The event has drawn a large field of over 1,600 athletes and we wish them well in their endeavours on the world stage.

The Australian Team is led by:

• Team Manager - Anita Tippet (WA)
• Head Coach - Ross Hartnett (WA)
• Female Coach - Yukyung (Amy) Song (Vic)
• Male Coaches - Jiheon (Jason) An (Vic) and Stephen Boag (Tas)

World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final

World Taekwondo (WT) has announced the final list of athletes eligible to contest the final of the 2018 Grand Prix Series.

The WT has selected the top 15 athletes in each weight category  according to their WT Olympic ranking as at November 2018, and we are pleased to announce that with a ranking of 11th, Australia's Safwan Khalil has been selected to contest the Male under 58kg weight category.

The Grand Prix Finals will be held in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates  between 24~25 November 2018, and we wish Safwan all the best as he competes against the world's best 14 other athletes.

Olympic Nominations Criteria

The Australian Olympic Committee has approved the Taekwondo Olympic Nomination Criteria for the 2020 Olympic Games.

The document sets out the process and criteria by which Australian Taekwondo will nominate athletes to the AOC for inclusion to the Australian Olympic Team.

The document can be downloaded from HERE

Run Out of Old Australian Taekwondo Kit

With adidas changing its line item of team clothing, we have been unable to source similar gear for our current and future teams. So we have had to come up with new designs, which have been designed by a male and female athlete, one each from poomsae and sparring.

However, we have been left with stock of odd sizes of clothing which we have been unable to use for our teams as we have insufficient stock to cater for our teams. We are therefore clearing the old stock out at a reduced price.

If you wish to purchase items click HERE to see what is available.